The antecedents of a distinct Slovak culture date from the Christian mission sent to Moravia in AD 863 by the Byzantine emperor Michael III at the request of the Moravian prince Rostislav; the Moravian state then encompassed at least part of the territory of present-day Slovakia. Byzantine influence was short-lived, however, and did not survive the competition with Latinized western Christianity. Slavic liturgy disappeared from the region after the invasions by nomadic Magyar (Hungarian) tribes toward the end of the 9th century. These Magyar invasions also succeeded in separating the West Slavic ancestors of today’s Slovaks, living north of the Danube River, from the South Slavs. Thereafter, until the founding of Czechoslovakia in 1918, the history of the Slovaks was closely connected with that of Hungary.

Slovak culture, particularly the Slovak language, survived despite Hungarian hegemony and the widespread use of Czech, Latin, and German. In the 15th century, Hussites from Bohemia brought the Czech language and culture to Slovakia, and Slovak Lutherans used Czech as both their liturgical and literary language, but they remained a distinct minority. Roman Catholicism continued as the majority religion, and Latin was used not only for liturgical purposes but also as the main administrative language until almost the mid-19th century, when it was replaced by Hungarian. German was widely used by the aristocracy and the urban middle class, owing to the influence of the Habsburg monarchy. The first Slovak intellectuals to be concerned with the preservation of the Slovak language and culture emerged during the Enlightenment and the French revolutionary wars. Although primarily educated in Hungarian, the Slovak intelligentsia—whether priests, lawyers, or doctors—communicated with Slovak peasants and servants in their language and helped to accelerate the spread of modern Slovak literacy. Hungarian nationalists reacted by enforcing Magyarization at every level of education beyond primary school; contemporary experts predicted the extinction of the Slovak nation within a generation. Nevertheless, the number of Slovaks attending secondary schools and colleges in Hungary continued to increase, and selective censorship could not stop the spread of Slovak newspapers and books. With the creation of Slovakia within the new country of Czechoslovakia, the durability of the Slovak language and culture was confirmed. Shortly after Slovakia’s independence, Slovak became enshrined as the country’s official language.

Daily life and social customs

The rich folklore and customs of many Slovak regions have survived into modern times. They are on full display in the Catholic parishes, especially during the two main Christian holidays. A genuine Roman Catholic Christmas in Slovakia includes the three days of Christmas (December 24–26) and is carried over to Three Kings’ Day (January 6). Traditional Christmas carols are typically a part of the festivities. In some regions Easter, particularly Good Friday, is the biggest religious holiday of the year. Apart from religious celebrations, numerous folk music festivals take place in Slovakia. These may feature both Slovak and Roma performers.

Slovak food and drink have been influenced by the surrounding, mostly Hungarian and German, cuisine. Traditional Slovak food consists of a wide range of soups, gruels, boiled and stewed vegetables, roasted and smoked meats, and dairy products, especially sheep’s milk cheese (bryndza). Bryndzové halušky, small potato dumplings mixed with bryndza, is a Slovak specialty. Viticulture was brought to Slovakia by the ancient Romans as they advanced along the Danube 2,000 years ago, and vineyards still are found along the Danube and Váh rivers. In addition to wine, brandy is a popular drink in Slovakia. Typical Slovak brandies include the plum-based slivovica and the juniper-based borovička.

The arts

Literature and drama

Although Slovak dialects had been distinct from Czech since the Middle Ages, a Slovak literary language did not develop until the late 18th century. The Catholic priest Ján Hollý (1785–1849) was the first Slovak writer to use the Slovak language successfully in his poetry. The language had been recently codified by another priest, Anton Bernolák, who had based his codification on the Western Slovak dialect. Yet Bernolák’s Slovak failed to catch on, owing to a lack of followers and strong opposition by educated Slovak Lutherans, who used Czech as their literary language. Even Ján Kollár’s Slávy dcera (1824; “The Daughter of Sláva”), considered a principal work of Slovak literature and among the impulses behind Pan-Slavism, was written in Czech. It was up to a younger group of Slovak Lutheran writers, headed by L’udovít Štúr, to abandon Czech in favour of Slovak. This time the codification was based on the Central Slovak dialect. Later poets, using a refined form of literary Slovak, continued to produce nationalistic and Romantic works, such as Marína (1846), by Andrej Sládkovič (Andrej Braxatoris), and the ballads of Janko Král’, whose exploits in the Revolutions of 1848 made him a legend.

With the foundation of Czechoslovakia and the further expansion of Slovak education, Slovak writings multiplied. The difficulties of World War II and its aftermath of communist rule found vivid, personal expression in the work of Ladislav Mňačko, Alfonz Bednár, and Dominik Tatarka. Mňačko was among the first eastern European writers to criticize Stalinism, in his popular novel The Taste of Power (1967), while Tatarka attacked the Gustav Husák regime’s process of “normalization” in Czechoslovakia after 1969 in Sám proti noci (1984; “Alone Against the Night”). In the years leading up to the Velvet Revolution of 1989, such novelists as Ladislav Ballek, Vincent Šikula, and Ján Johanides asserted a distinct Slovak voice. During the late 20th and early 21st centuries, a new generation of writers—including Dušan Mitana, Pavel Vilikovský, and Martin Šimečka—distinguished themselves.

Slovak drama developed at about the same time as Slovak literature; Juraj Palkovič’s play Dva buchy a tri šuchy (1800; “Two Bumps and Three Rubs”) is considered the first example. Ján Chalupka produced a lively satire, Kocúrkovo, in 1830, while Ján Palárik wrote popular comedies, including Inkognito (1857; “Incognito”) and Zmierenie (1862; “The Reconciliation”). The best-known Slovak playwright of the 20th century was Peter Karvaš, author of The Diplomats, The Midnight Mass, and Antigone and the Others, among many other plays. (See also Slovak literature.)

Music

Music occupies an important place in Slovak cultural life. Its development has been traced to Roman times, and it was nurtured by the Roman Catholic Church and by the Magyar nobility. In addition, a strong folk tradition developed; this became an object of scholarly interest in the first half of the 19th century, when a separate national musical tradition began to emerge under the influence of such composers as Frico Kafenda. Modern Slovak music has drawn from both classical and folk traditions, particularly with such 20th-century composers as Ján Cikker, Gejza Dusík, Eugen Suchoň, Andrej Očenáš, and Alexander Moyzes. Slovak opera singer Lucia Popp performed internationally during the 1970s and 1980s. Bratislava and Košice have symphony orchestras and opera ensembles.

Painting

Slovak painters typically have looked outside the country for inspiration, particularly to Prague. At the end of the 19th century, however, Slovakia was “discovered” by Mikoláš Aleš from Bohemia and Jóža Úprka from Moravia. At the same time, a national school of Slovak painters emerged with Peter Michal Bohúň and Jozef Boetech Klemens. After 1918 a number of Slovak painters studying in Prague developed the “descriptive realism” school. In the 1950s and ’60s a younger generation of painters began to leave this school behind and follow other European trends. Among the early 20th-century painters, Dominik Skutecký, Lajos Csordák, Július Jakoby, Martin Benka, Mikuláš Galanda, L’udovít Fulla, and Cyprián Majerník became prominent. By the end of the 20th century the following painters made their imprint: Daniel Brunovský, Stano Bubán, Laco Teren, and Ivan Csudai.

Motion pictures

The Slovak motion picture industry emerged in the 1920s. Notable from this period is the silent film Jánošík (1921), based on the life and legend of the so-named Slovak folk hero. Of the films produced after World War II, perhaps the best known internationally is The Shop on Main Street (1965), directed by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos. It received an Academy Award (for best foreign-language film), the first ever awarded to a Czechoslovakian production. Among internationally recognized Slovak film directors is Juraj Jakubisko, who first gained acclaim during the late 1960s as part of the Czech New Wave. His strongly visual, metaphorical films include It’s Better to Be Healthy and Wealthy Than Poor and Ill (1993) and An Ambiguous Report About the End of the World (1997). Other Slovak directors who have received international attention include Martin Sulik and Dušan Hanák, best known for their documentary Paper Heads (1995). Film continued to be a respected art form in Slovakia in the early 21st century, as evidenced by the country’s film festivals and the work of the Slovak Film Institute. Slovak animation also gained in importance.

Cultural institutions

The Slovak National Library is in the city of Martin, which is also the seat of the foremost Slovak cultural society, the Matica Slovenská (founded 1863). The Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information (formerly the Slovak Technical Library) and the University Library are in Bratislava. The last, founded in 1919, is the oldest and largest academic library in Slovakia. In addition, Slovakia has a large network of smaller public libraries and branch libraries.

Most major museums, including the Slovak National Museum (founded 1893) and the Slovak National Gallery (founded 1948) are located in Bratislava. The Museum of Jewish Culture, a part of the Slovak National Museum, opened in 1991. The Museum of Carpathian German Culture and the Museum of Hungarian Culture in Slovakia are both in Bratislava, while other regional ethnographic museums are located throughout the country—for example, the Museum of Ukrainian-Ruthenian Culture in Svidník. Other noteworthy museums include the Slovak Museum of Mining in Banská Štiavnica and the Slovak Agricultural Museum in Nitra. A unique museum of visual arts, the Warhol Family Museum of Modern Art, opened in Medzilaborce in 1991; its collection includes a number of works by Andy Warhol, whose parents were from the region.

The first professional theatre featuring performances in the Slovak language was the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava, established in 1920. In addition to plays, the theatre also mounts ballets and operas. A new theatre building was built in 2007, but productions also continued to be mounted at the original Neo-Renaissance theatre built in 1886. The state subsidizes a number of theatre companies, including professional companies focused on ethnic minorities. The Slovak Folk Artistic Ensemble and the dance ensemble Lúčnica perform programs of traditional Slovak music and dance; both have played a role in disseminating Slovak folk culture to other parts of the world. Slovakia’s leading orchestra is the Slovak Philharmonic.

Slovakia boasts several UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Spiš Castle, one of the largest castle complexes in central Europe. Among the other sites are the wonderfully well-preserved village of Vlkolínec, the medieval town of Bardejov, the historic town centre of Levoča, and the traditional wooden churches in the Carpathian Mountains.

Sports and recreation

Slovaks take full advantage of the mountainous terrain of their country; hiking, mountaineering, downhill skiing, and rock climbing are popular pursuits. Other outdoor recreational activities—such as fishing, white-water rafting, ice skating, cycling, spelunking, horseback riding, and bathing in thermal or mineral water—also attract large numbers of enthusiasts. Among spectator sports, football (soccer) and ice hockey draw the largest crowds. Slovak athletes participated in the Olympics as members of the Czechoslovak team until 1994, when the republic first competed as a separate country at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Nor. Slovakia won its first Olympic medals in canoe events at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

The republic has several national parks. Two of these, the Tatry (High Tatras) and the Pieniny national parks, are situated along the Polish border and are administered in cooperation with Polish authorities; the Low Tatras National Park is located in the interior. These areas feature glacial landscapes, alpine flora and fauna, and relict species from the Pleistocene Epoch (about 12,600,000 to about 1011,000 700 years ago). Smaller nature reserves also protect distinctive wilderness areas.

Media and publishing

Slovakia has a number of daily Slovak-language newspapers. SME and Pravda, the latter formerly the organ of the Communist Party but now independent, have large circulations. The state subsidizes a number of periodicals in such minority languages as Hungarian, Czech, Ukrainian, German, and Romany. The number of book publishers in Slovakia increased dramatically following the collapse of communism, but a substantial number did not survive their first book launchings.

The state-controlled monopolies on newspaper and book publishing were broken up with greater ease in Czechoslovakia after 1989 than was the monopoly in broadcasting. The division of Czechoslovakia, however, brought about the collapse of the federal broadcasting system, which ended on Jan. 1, 1993. Both state-sponsored and commercial radio and television stations operate in Slovakia.